ARIS Expert Paper - From Business Process to ... - Software AG

ARIS Expert Paper
From Business Process to
Enterprise Architecture
ARIS
Platform
Expert
Paper
ARIS Solution for
Enterprise Architecture Management
www.ids-scheer.com

ARIS Expert Paper
From Business Process to Enterprise Architecture
ARIS Solution for Enterprise Architecture Management
Corporate growth typically goes hand in hand with an increasingly complex
IT environment. Mergers add to the problem by creating redundancy, while
shrinking system lifecycles necessitate more flexible IT architecture management.
It becomes increasingly difficult to identify business-critical systems,
and cost-cutting targets prove elusive. Aligning IT structures with an
organization’s objectives and business processes is the only way to achieve
sustained improvements and a significant reduction in the cost of developing,
maintaining, and upgrading IT systems. This paper shows how ARIS
Solution for Enterprise Architecture Management allows IT infrastructures
to be aligned with corporate processes and enables long-term IT architecture
management.
Find out how:
� ARIS Solution for Enterprise Architecture Management can be
used to align IT systems with the needs of corporate processes
and
� long-term IT architecture management can be implemented.
The business processes in today’s organizations are based on highly sophisticated
enterprise-wide IT systems. Enterprise architectures (EA for short) are the
key tool for documenting, analyzing, and managing the complex information this
involves. They form part of an architecture framework that describes the content
required for a complete architecture.
Fig. 1: Support for multiple enterprise architecture frameworks
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About the Authors:
Dirk Maurer
is the IDS Scheer AG development
manager responsible for the ARIS
Design Platform products
Patrick Büch
is an IDS Scheer project manager
responsible for enter prise architecture
and designing/developing
ARIS Solution for Enterprise
Architecture Management.
Contact:
arisproductmarketing@ids-scheer.com

ARIS Solution for Enterprise Architecture Management enables companies to create, update, and optimize enterprise
architectures based on architecture standards, such as DoDAF, Zachman, TOGAF, Archimate, and IT City Planning. The
ARIS house acts as the basis for the different EA frameworks (fig. 1). The fact that the framework-specific methods are
linked to the various ARIS method views, and to the central ARIS repository, gives companies a holistic view of their
entire organization.
Fig. 2: From business processes to IT systems
ARIS Expert Paper
Pivotal to the ARIS method is an object-oriented approach for reusing architecture artifacts across different views. This
makes it possible to recognize how corporate strategy, business processes, and IT architectures interact and to build the
necessary bridges. An enterprise architecture compromises four different architecture descriptions, as shown in figure
2.
The business architecture defines business strategies and describes organizational structures and business processes.
The application architecture describes the services and application systems that support the business processes.
The information architecture describes the business objects and data that are exchanged between process participants
and applications.
The lowest level is the infrastructure architecture, which is used to describe the physical landscape – the hardware
and networks that support the application systems.
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ARIS Expert Paper
This type of description highlights the impact of business process changes on the associated IT systems. System redundancy
can be detected and new IT
requirements identified. Similarly, the
business processes affected by system
shutdowns and infrastructure
changes can be easily identified. For
this reason, the methods and integrational
tools used for IT architecture
management must create a
structure that is fully synchronized
with process management. The ARIS
Value Engineering for Enterprise
Architecture (AVE for Enterprise
Architecture) method provides models
and procedures based on ARIS
Platform tools that enable corporate
IT architectures to be aligned with
strategic business needs. The objective
is an awareness that system
architectures are a means to an end,
and not an end in themselves –
because businesses face an ongoing
need to adapt to changing circum-
Fig. 3: Value added chain diagram
stances and priorities.
1 Business architecture
The key function of information technology
is to support and optimize
corporate processes. Accordingly, IT
strategy should reflect corporate
strategy. IT archi tectures need to be
documented, analyzed, and optimized
from a business process perspective.
Based on this in sight, the
ARIS method begins by recording the
corporate processes in ARIS
Business Architect, supported by a
special process model. During the
design phase, users can define core
elements of an architecture, such as
organizational units, application systems,
data, and IT system requirements.
Figure 4 shows a sample business
process, documenting and
highlighting the relationship between
activities, data, participants, and
systems.
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Fig. 4: Relationship between activities, data, participants, and systems

Fig. 5: Relationship between corporate locations, business processes, and the
underlying IT systems
Fig. 6: IS functions form the link here between business processes and IT systems
ARIS Expert Paper
Figure 5 is an organizational “map”
that shows the relationship between
corporate locations, business
processes, and the underlying IT systems.
This is what specialist planners
work with. Docu menting and
analyzing existing structures in this
way is the first step to creating an
optimized blueprint for future development.
Corresponding data attributes
are used to map the lifecycle of
an IT system with regard to process
support at a specific location. The
states of the IT system indicated by
the data are reflected in the colored
marking. Yellow and green stand for
“To be phased in” and “Phased in,”
while orange and red are used to signal
“To be phased out” and “Phased
out.”.
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ARIS Expert Paper
Dialogs and specific functionalities assist the planner when capturing and updating planning data. A special reporting
mechanism allows data to be aggregated for further analysis and to generate overviews (“maps”), making it possible to
come up with concrete measures for enhancing corporate IT structures as a result of this activity.
Special generation mechanisms
allow views of the future infrastructure
to be created, so comparisons
with to-be / reference installations
are possible (current state architecture
vs. future state architecture).
Importantly, periodic progress
assess ments can thus be made and
plans compared with the current status.
Examining the application structures
of major IT organizations in the age
of outsourcing, outtasking, and
extensive M&A activity frequently
reveals heterogeneous system landscapes
with some data possibly held
in duplicate. If no attempt at harmonization
is made, failure to achieve
expected synergy benefits will be
accompanied by long-term additional
cost for avoidable upgrading of legacy
systems.
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Fig. 7: IT system embedded in a business process
Fig. 8: IS functions as the link between processes and IT systems
For the purposes of detailed analysis,
it is therefore crucial to know how
processes are executed in the individual
parts of the company, how
they interact, and what impact
changes might have.
IS functions (information system
functions, fig. 8) form the link here
between business processes and IT
systems (fig. 6). The purpose of these
objects is to enable a system to be
defined in terms of its functionality.
This allows them to be reused in
business processes to document the
IT system functionality required by a
specific business function (fig. 7). An
impact analysis then provides an
easy way of establishing the extent
to which an IT system is embedded in
business processes and whether
some IT systems duplicate the same
functionality.

2 Application architecture
The application architecture is described using
multiple views, which are presented in the following
sections.
2.1 IT system environment
The model below (fig. 9) groups the applications
into several thematic blocks, allowing exact mapping
of applications to several subsystems
across a number of levels.
2.2 Architecture toolkit
Fig. 10: Architecture toolkit
The aim of standardization is to cut maintenance
costs, but reducing the diversity of deployed
technologies can also deliver savings on staff
training and the procurement of hardware and
software.
Fig. 9: IT system environment
An architecture toolkit is used to manage all the
technologies deployed in an organization. It
allows an IT architect to define standards as a
means of harmonizing future development of the
IT environment. Figure 10 shows an example of
an architecture toolkit. Additional models can be
used to display information in greater detail, like
the model for database system management in
figure 11. Each of these database objects contains
information that includes the manufacturer,
version, and links to the relevant manuals. A
database object also contains information about
the standardization status:
“Standard,” “Non-standard,” etc.
Fig. 11: Database system with standardization status
ARIS Expert Paper
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ARIS Expert Paper
2.3 Reference architectures
The objective of reference architectures
is to reuse concepts and software
components. They lay down
requirements targeted at creating a
more uniform IT system landscape.
Software suppliers need to meet
these requirements with regard to
design principles, infrastructures,
and technologies. Reference architectures
thus help to harmonize IT
infrastructures, which in turn cuts
operating costs.
2.4 System description
Access diagrams are used to
describe systems at the type level
(fig. 12). The type level (often also
called the “logical view”) contains
information about the underlying
operating system, programming language,
database, hardware type,
organization responsible, and person
responsible for the application.
Keeping this information up to date is
the task of the application owner.
Fig. 13: Navigation and analysis functions
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Fig. 12: Access diagram
Navigation and analysis functions
(fig. 13) are used for such purposes
as identifying the systems that feature
specific technologies. This
makes it possible to analyze the
impact of a change of technology,
provider, or version, and to inform /
involve the relevant persons.

Fig. 14: Program flow chart
2.5 Information architecture
The following diagram (ERM, fig. 15)
shows a more detailed description of
the data. This data can be reused in
process descriptions covering
input/output data relating to specific
activities, the data flow, and data
exchange between process participants.
The data objects also serve as
the basis for describing data
exchange between applications, and
can be stored with the interfaces.
Fig. 15: Data model
ARIS Expert Paper
The interfaces between a system and
other systems can also be identified
e. g. information about the data ex -
changed, protocols used, etc., can
also be stored here. Here again, this
view enables the impact of system and
interface changes to be analyzed.
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ARIS Expert Paper
2.6 Infrastructure architecture
In addition to description at the type
level, systems are also described at
the physical level (instances).
Instances can have information
associated with them, such as hardware
used, network segments, system
support responsibility, ports, and
IP addresses.
The following diagram (fig. 16) shows
various different instances of application
systems.
Fig. 17: Network diagram
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Fig. 16: Application system instances
Network diagrams (fig. 17) allow the
relationship between networks,
routers, switches, and hardware
(servers, printers, etc.) to be shown.
The icons used here can be modified
to suit specific user needs, as can
those in the other diagrams.

3 Reporting
The information held in the central repository of ARIS Solution for Enterprise Architecture Management can be evaluated
in a number of different ways and made available to the relevant target groups. In addition to standard navigation functionality
within the process and architecture models, automated reports, macros, and search mechanisms are also available,
which are specifically designed to meet the needs of enterprise architecture management. A number of standard
reports are described below.
3.1 ARIS “System Evaluation” report
Based on the application system types
within the selected application system
type diagrams, this report creates a system
portfolio with details of data center
costs and criticality.
3.2 ARIS “System List” report
The “System List” report supports creation of various lists depending on the selection set.
Examples include:
� System lists by associated IT standard
� System lists by associated business process
� Lists of IT standards by associated business process
Fig. 18: “System Evaluation” report
ARIS Expert Paper
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ARIS Expert Paper
3.3 ARIS “System Fact Sheet” report
Based on the architecture data assigned by the individual project team, an overview can be generated for any system
(including automatic generation at defined times). The system fact sheet describes a system with regard to contact persons
(person, organizational unit), service level agreements, business functionality, process, and operation.
Fig. 19: “System Fact Sheet” report
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4 Web-based publication and processing of content
Fig. 20: ARIS IT Inventory
ARIS Expert Paper
The cooperation of many user groups is central to any enterprise architecture project. Centralized publication of content
is thus vital to ensure a shared understanding and on going processing of standardization and development tasks.
ARIS Platform provides powerful, dynamic publication components that meet this need, allowing access to data via an
intranet portal in a company-specific and role-based manner.
If individual user groups (e.g., application system owners) are to be allowed to maintain system-specific information, the
ARIS IT Inventory add-on can be used to provide a user interface for decentralized data input.
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ARIS Expert Paper
5 Integration with IT service management environments
Many organizations deploy IT
service management systems for
operational management of their
IT infrastructure, which store
important data relating to the
managed infrastructure in a configuration
management database
(CMDB). ARIS Solution for Enter -
prise Architecture Manage ment is
able to import this instance and
infrastructure information into
ARIS IT Architect e. g. in order to
conduct a business impact analysis
in the context of scenario planning.
6 Special roles within an enterprise architecture team
In the context of enterprise architecture management, large IT organizations in particular have adopted specific user
roles, which despite some variation in name focus on the same or similar sets of tasks, as described below.
IT System Manager:
� Documenting and disseminating system information via the intranet
� Planning system transitions based on life cycle and strategic planning
� Providing IT project managers with specification guidelines that comply with corporate IT standards and business
needs
IT Architect:
� Establishing applications and technologies based on the existing IT landscape
� Detailing, documenting, and disseminating enterprise-wide IT standards
� Creating a long-term IT architecture framework
� Integrating and involving process management in the strategic planning framework and IT roadmap definition
IT Development Planner:
� Recording the as-is IT landscape within the organization’s core processes
� Deriving a to-be IT deployment plan
� Continuous updating of the IT plan
Architecture Manager:
� Strategic deployment of an architecture framework
� Merging of IT standards and IT system directory
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Fig. 21: ARIS and CMDB

7 Summary
ARIS Expert Paper
By creating a seamless interconnect between IT and process architecture in a single repository, from strategy through
to infrastructure level, ARIS Solution for Enterprise Architecture Management makes it possible for the first time to fully
align IT systems with business needs.
Benefits include being able to identify which critical business processes at which locations are affected and will therefore
need to be part of the migration project when replacing an IT system. Planners and architecture managers can navigate
the entire enterprise architecture, following object relationships, and take informed decisions based on a holistic
view of the company and a shared methodology.
Users can compare the IT standards and target architectures defined in the repository with the actual situation and create
a roadmap for future development. Importantly, ARIS IT Architect facilitates organization-wide enterprise architecture
management by supporting distributed teams. The resulting architecture information can be documented in the
intranet with the help of ARIS Business Publisher, a dynamic publishing tool, in a way that meets the needs of specific
groups. In addition to designing enterprise architectures, companies can use this functionality to set up process and IT
portals.
Bringing together business process design and IT architectures allows coordinated management of these two areas,
enabling the kind of integrative approach that is particularly important for successful enterprise architecture management,
given the interdependency of processes and IT structures.
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ARIS Expert Paper
© Copyright (C) IDS Scheer AG, 2001 – 2009. All rights reserved. The contents of this document is subject to copyright law. Changes, abridgments, extensions and supplements
require the prior written consent from IDS Scheer AG, Saarbrücken, Germany. Reproduction is only permitted provided that this copyright notice is retained
on the reproduced document. Each publication or translation requires the prior written consent from IDS Scheer AG, Saarbrücken, Germany. “ARIS”, “IDS”,
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countries all over the world. “SAP NetWeaver” is a trademark of SAP AG, Walldorf. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
U.S. pat. D561,778, pat. D561,777, pat. D547,322, pat. D547,323, pat. D547,324
ID-Number: EP-EAM-0909-EN
ARIS
Platform
Expert
Paper
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